The comparison of one thing to another without the use of like or as: “A man is but a weak reed”; “The road was a ribbon of moonlight.” Metaphors are common in literature and expansive speech. (Comparesimile.)

A common figure of speech that explicitly compares two things usually considered different. Most similes are introduced by like or as: “The realization hit me like a bucket of cold water.” (Comparemetaphor.)

Blink wrote:

I see the world outside my dark dank apartment, a filthy city, like a shady man in trenchcoat hiding in alleyways selling jelly doughnuts near fat camp.Panting loudly like in an obscene movie, I arrive late.It stares back at me like the dead eyes of the abyss, drawing countless souls towards it.After work it got dark, like my childhood after being told there was no Santa.Like the promises of a stepfather to his red-headed stepchild.Like Russian duet singers pretending to be lesbians.Collapsing on the couch looking over the mess sadness stabs my heart like hospital patient with high cholesterol.Like a painter painting his canvas.